The Songs That We Sing
by WereWriter
Summary: There is a storyline in progress here. Really. An attempt at a decent story, despite the clichés I'm pumping in for my own personal amusement. Unusual pairing coming up. Review if you liked this of if you think I'm being too lazy to put the updates up.
1. Chapter 1: Second Chances

Title: The Songs That We Sing

Author: Werewriter

Author's note: Don't ask me what's gonna happen in this thing. I write it because I get twitchy if I don't. The storyline usually has an end or at least a next chapter in my head. All reviews are appreciated. Any inconsistencies in the story are wholly my fault. This thing was written when I got about halfway Sailor Moon R, so count in some serious evolution of attacks without anything causing them. The Outers should appear someday, too. Patience, please.

Disclaimer: The writer of this text does not claim ownership of any used copyrighted material, nor is any money made thereof.

Warnings: Incest-theories, sex, homosexuality, general confusion, a little racism, some mild violence, language and probably a few others.

Chapter 1: Second Chances

In your darkest hour  
Hold out your hand for me  
Something will guide you  
I'll be beside you  
And when it's rough out there  
I'm with you everywhere  
I will be right behind you if you should fall.  
-Phil Collins 'You touch my heart'  
::::::::::  
The new girl smiled hesitantly to Minako.  
"O--Ohayo."

It had been a stupid idea to come to the party, or start a game of truth or dare. People were older than her and though there were no drugs, no alcohol or sex, she felt threatened somehow.

The girl kneeling in front of Minako seemed to be trembling a little; a blush painting her cheeks a delicate pink. She gently pressed her lips to Minako's, pulled away quickly, but she'd stayed a little longer than she'd have had to. Rumor went that the gaijin liked girls, too. Her lip gloss smelled of artificial cherries.

Minako smiled as she pulled back.  
"Just a stupid game, Saan-san...san...san."  
"Only Saan is well--no, that's not the word, is it?"  
"Okay?"  
Saan nodded.  
"Hai."  
"Your turn, Saan," Minako smiled radiantly.

Saan looked at her challenger, and her face changed. She was more than aware, apparently, that she was disliked because of her origins and bad Japanese and sexual orientation and odd, foreign habits and manners.  
"Truth or dare, Yuuji?" she asked.  
"Truth," Yuuji said confidently.  
"Who do you fantasize about when you..."  
Her smile was pure sadism.  
"...auto-fornicate?"  
"Big word for a gaijin," Yuuji spat.  
"Answer the question, or it's dare-time for YOU."  
Saan's eyes were filled with the most humiliating possibilities for that. Yuuji tried to stare her down.

"Yuuji's a cheater," Minako remarked. The calls filled the air soon enough.  
"Cheater!"  
"Coward!"  
"Scaredy cat!"

"Arigato," Saan mouthed to Minako, who winked back.

But when the crowd started fighting, they quickly got up and left. Minako took Saan's hand and led her out onto the streets.  
"That was a mean thing Yuuji did," Minako said. Saan shrugged.  
"It's... No one likes me. I mind, but I adjust."  
"Because--well--I heard you preferred girls."  
"I like girls and I like boys. People are frightened because I do," Saan said.  
"I'm not," Minako remarked.  
"And you're the alone one. My Japanese is pretty foul, too. I hate the international school! I don't learn anything there. They just let me skip grades but don't teach me how to talk."  
"Sounds unfair."

Saan looked at her and shrugged listlessly.  
"I'd best go home, before I fault up again. Ja ne."

Minako watched her walk away.  
"She seems so lonely."  
::::::::::  
It had taken Minako a lot of time to find out where Saan lived. A tall, handsome boy opened the door.  
"What do you want?" he asked in English.  
"Uhm... Is Saan home?" Minako asked back, wincing at her accent.  
"Saan?"  
The boy seemed surprised, then nodded.  
"Yeah, but she usually... I mean... I didn't know she..."  
He looked her up and down.  
"Damn," he sighed.  
"Come on in, love, I'll try to drag my sister away from her studying."

Minako blushed. That boy was...

Saan came down. She looked drained.  
"Minako?" she frowned.  
"Konnichiwa, Saan," Minako bowed.

Saan's brother said something in a language Minako didn't recognize. Saan scowled and hissed a reply, dragging Minako outside again.  
"What are you doing here? Ruby thinks you're my girlfriend, now!" Saan said.  
"I--I wanted to ask if you wanted to come to the arcade with me and some friends. Why would your brother think--"  
"I went out late, remember? I didn't tell him, because he'd get angry. He doesn't like me being out among people who refer to his sister as 'gaijin' instead of 'ningen'," Saan explained.  
"I got you into trouble," Minako realized. Saan nodded sort of sadly.  
"Let's make the best of it, if I am. You mentioned an arcade?" Saan asked hopefully. Minako laughed.  
"Hai. Come, follow me."  
Minako led Saan to the bus stop, chatting amicably during the ride.  
"Here we are. Next stop, Crown Arcade," Minako smiled.

They got off the bus and started walking.

"Ne, Saan? Does your brother really think I'm your girlfriend now?" Minako asked.  
"Aa," Saan nodded.  
"Why?"  
"I don't have friends. Someone takes pity on me, tries to change me, we break up, I'm alone."  
"You seem to be a nice girl."

Saan laughed mirthlessly.

"Oh, yeah, that'll score me points," she shook her head.  
"I don't see why not," Minako said.  
"Not where I go to school. International school is full of kids from ambassadors, hotshots from big companies. You're a friend by being cool, rich, social and popular. By having the most important parents or by--by--If the papers print lots of pictures of you. Nice isn't going to score me points, Minako-san. I am smart, I'm not poor, but I'm the lowest you can get in the food-chain of my school. I'm a nobody. I'm the... underdog? Hai, underdog. An easy target."  
"So come to a normal school. You said you learned quickly," Minako smiled.  
"I've got no opportunity to learn Japanese. I just get theory in my school. It's hopeless."  
Minako frowned, then smiled.  
"I know! Come!"  
She motioned for Saan to follow her into the arcade.

Motoki held up his hand in greeting as they entered. Minako waved back and guided Saan towards her friends, making quick introductions.

"...And this is Tsukino Usagi. Usagi-san, this is Saan," Minako beamed. Usagi smiled at Saan.  
"Pleasure to meet you."  
"Entirely mine, Tsukino-san."

"What about us?" a voice called out. They all looked.  
"Seiya-chan! Yaten-kun! Taiki-chan! What are you doing here?" Makoto called out.  
"Call it a comeback of the Three Lights," Seiya winked.  
"We were too restless, so we got sent back to kick butt once mo--Who's this?"  
"Kou Seiya, this is Saan. Saan, Seiya."

Saan was giving the three a searching stare. She stopped at Seiya. Her eyes seemed different somehow.  
"You're a dead creature. This isn't when you feel alive. You're not like thi--"  
Her eyes cleared and a hand flew to her mouth.  
"Go-Gomen! Gomen nasai!"  
She bowed deeply, and stayed bowed. Seiya touched her shoulder, raised her up. She was crying, tears streaming down her face, but she wasn't making a sound.  
"Daijibou ka?"  
"Nani?"  
"Daijibou ka, Saan-san?"  
Saan shook her head in confusion, tears flowing anew.  
"How are you feeling?" Ami asked clumsily in English, bright enough to realize accents as heavy as Saan's weren't bred natively to Japan.  
"Like a screw-up." Saan replied in English.  
"This happens a lot?" Ami asked.  
"Every time I try to make friends. I'll leave."

She turned away from Seiya, already moving towards the door as Ami translated. Seiya grabbed Saan's arm and pulled her back.  
"You have magic?" he asked in Japanese.  
"'Mutations' were my previous friends' description, mostly. It's not magic," Saan shrugged.  
"Intuition. A gift no one else has. Like Rei-san, and Hotaru-san," Seiya nodded.  
"I... I don't understand," Saan said, looking around in confusion.  
"Rei can sense evil. She can tell the future and the present from fire, when it's needed. Hotaru can heal people with her hands. Hotaru's got little friends, also. Rei gets by by being a shrine maiden," Taiki offered.  
"Lucky. Did I start talking about impending doom, again?" Saan asked, not quite sure who or what Hotaru was.  
"Iie. You said Seiya was dead. In a way, he is. What did you see?" Yaten asked.  
"I don't see. I... feel, though that's not the word I'm looking for. I feel life. I sometimes predict a death, a coma, vegetable state, depression. I feel life, but love and hatred and anger and joy are the same for what I feel. I don't know if passion is passionate love or violence. It gets me in trouble."  
"If we try to keep you from getting into it," Taiki spoke up, "will you be our friend?"  
Saan looked at him as though he was speaking Chinese.  
"You don't think I'm a freak?" she asked in a soft, breakable voice.  
"We're all freaks," Makoto said.  
"Safety is always in numbers, Saan-san." Ami smiled.  
"When's your school out tomorrow? I'll give you a ride home," Seiya smiled. Saan laughed, and it was an amused, cultured sound. Something you expected from someone attending a school for the rich and exotic.  
"My brother will maul you if he sees. He thinks I choose my friends with my... crotch, I believe is the word," Saan said.  
"Hai. He thought I was her girlfriend when I picked her up before," Minako nodded.  
"Then we'll just have to be sneaky, won't we?" Yaten grinned.  
::::::::::  
The Kou brothers made a habit of picking up Andreas-san every day after, though sometimes it was just one or two of them. It took a while for them to discover Saan's last name was a first name. Saan's classmates however, turned jealous. A few had been around long enough to recognize the infamous singers picking up the nobody everyone else had been ignoring.

When Saan didn't reply to their questions, or replied that it was none of their business, a few girls ambushed her after school, pushing her around, tearing at her uniform, scratching and slapping her in the face.

"Oi!"

Taiki and Yaten tore through, shaking their two girls each.  
"What's going on here?" Yaten demanded as Seiya pulled Saan away from the mob and into his arms. The girls retreated; confused by the language they didn't speak. Few paid attention to the Japanese classes they got.

"Daijibou?" Seiya asked Saan.  
"Hai." Saan nodded, carefully touching her thigh and wincing.  
"Iie." Seiya said disapprovingly, shaking his head and lifting her up in his arms. She squeaked in surprise.  
"Seiya! Put me down!"  
"Let them abuse you this way. I'll sue their parents' heads off," Seiya smirked. Yaten and Taiki had put their catches down, and they'd fled with the last of the gawkers. Saan got carried to the car, face buried in her hands.  
"Iemand geef mij een koord," she mumbled as Seiya carefully placed her on the limousine's back seat. Taiki got into the driver's seat, Yaten slipped into the back with Seiya.  
"Her house is the closest. She needs to get that looked after," Taiki said, turning the engine on.

Seiya was quiet. Yaten was not.  
"How long has that been going on for it to come to this, Saan?" he demanded.  
"Since someone recognized the three of you as three lights, though I don't know what that means. They kept on asking if you were back," Saan said quietly.  
"What'd you say?" Taiki asked.  
"That it was none of their business. Admitting ignorance would have gotten even more hostile response."  
"You're priceless, doll." Yaten grinned.  
"We're here. Seiya, help Saan out. I'll go and face Saan's brother," Taiki said.

Saan's brother proved to be quite hostile, shouting in their own language at Saan and in English at the Kous. It was quite obvious he didn't speak Japanese. Taiki had to go on relentlessly with his explanations in broken English to get the tall youth to listen to him. Grimly, he tended to his sister's wounds, agreed to speak to their parents to have Saan transferred and saw them out with the cheerful message that he would have their guts etched into his pc's motherboard if they hurt his sister in any way.

Ten minutes later, Saan called them on their cell phone with the request for someone fluent in Japanese to help her get entered in Juuban Municipal High School and take her shopping for school supplies.

Getting in wasn't easy. The fact that Saan's Japanese writing was practically nonexistent didn't help. She read it; spoke it with precious little help since meeting her new friends.  
"She could use a spell-checker. Or type. She can read which character she needs," Taiki suggested.  
"We do not have the funds for such extravagances, otherwise we would allow it."  
"I have. If you tell me where to get the software and the software requirements, I could buy it myself, if that would be acceptable," Saan said. The woman looked at her.  
"I could do a whole lot to keep from going back to having no one to laugh with, miss."  
The woman nodded.  
"Very well. Welcome to Juuban Municipal High School. Fill in these forms and lend me your passport and visa to copy."

Taiki filled out the forms for Saan and then took her shopping.  
The book was easy, and so was the uniform, but the laptop was harder. In the end, Saan got off with a horrid golden affair, a leftover from the last world cup soccer. Saan however, took it to her brother.  
"Help me?" she'd asked sweetly, and he'd laughed and taken it from her. An hour later, the entire thing had been dismantled and the casing spray-painted over.  
"It'll be ready tomorrow. You go nick one of my bags, empty it. I'll go see what I can give you."

Taiki watched as he'd opened several boxes, which were filled with bubble wrap. After a bit of rumbling, he got out an optical mouse. Another box came up with a USB memory stick and a flat card for wireless internet, another still gave her a USB hub and a set of earphones. The bottom of his closet was covered in bags for laptops.  
"Kipling, you still have the Kipling bag?" Saan asked.  
"Want it back?" her brother smirked.  
"Yes."  
He threw a dark red bag to his sister, who caught it handily.  
"Thank you."

Taiki didn't understand a word of the chattering. It was nothing like Japanese.  
"Why did you ask him to put stars on it? And in purple, blue and green... Does it have any symbolism in your culture, perhaps?"  
"Not hardly. It's just that, when a scientist discovers a star, it's the most wondrous colors. When I look up, they're just white on black. I like them better when they're colors, I think."  
"Why these colors?" Taiki asked.  
"My favorite flower. I do not know the name in Japanese. Forest honor-prize? Blue or purple, small plant, found in forests. Veronica Montana."  
"...Wood speedwell, I believe. Why call it an honor-prize? What is that?"  
"Ruby's, oniichan's old teacher once told me it used to be given to the people who had participated in a game, a competition, and not won, but done well, to wear, to show they were worth something even without the first prize. A prize to soothe the honor of the talented. A sort of honorable mention avant la lettre," Saan smiled.  
"You use a lot of foreign languages in your speech."  
"Gomen."

"Zegt nooit 'sorry' tenzij je iets hebt misdaan, Saan," Ruby said. Taiki looked up in confusion.  
"Nani?"  
"It's not important," Saan said.  
"He upset you."  
"He's just scared I'll make friends and they end up hurting me. People hate him, here, more so than me. He's sick of having to say goodbye, of having to fight to make friends, so he doesn't even try any more. He thinks I shouldn't, either. He knows how to apologize, how to say yes and no, thank you, basic phrases, really," Saan said as she carefully packed the bag, sliding cd-roms into a case her brother has conjured up from somewhere.  
"He plays the keyboard?" Taiki pointed.  
"Aa."  
Saan nodded and looked up with a frown.  
"Why?"  
"Go to the music store someday; ask for a cd of the Three Lights. Seiya is trying to arrange a comeback. Should Yaten fall sick... It'd be nice if someone could help."  
"I'll ask when times are truly desperate," Saan laughed.  
"Isn't he good?"  
"He had a cd, a single. When people started demanding more music, he quit. Band fell apart, we moved again... He plays, but not for people who ask because he's Red of Basic Colors."  
"Can I see the keyboard?"

Saan looked at her brother.  
"Taiki vraagt of hij je keyboard even mag inpluggen."  
"Dat hij doet wat hij niet laten kan!" Ruby shouted, fiddling with the uncased laptop, which he'd apparently wired up to his own pc. Taiki looked at Saan in discomfort.  
"He's pissed we're talking in Japanese. C'mon, help me with this."

The board was set up on the bed, Taiki being very careful with it.  
"The casing is--"  
"I know. Ruby likes to do things that come down to self-done improvement. It's his third board this year. He wrecks 'em every so often, but until he does, they're actually quite decent. Don't try and push it together," Saan smiled. Taiki tried to switch it on. It beeped.

"In God's naam! Ruby!"

Taiki could see the boy smirk. Saan stuck out her tongue.  
"Grieg. Gewoon Grieg."  
"Laten we het hopen, ettertje."  
Saan kneeled in front of the keyboard and started playing.  
"The Morning Suite," Taiki said in surprise,  
"You play very well, too."  
"Only Ruby's passwords. Here you are. All yours until he's finished chewing out that pc."

Taiki smiled and started playing. After a few songs, Saan touched a few keys and sat down besides Taiki and played along next to him.  
"How do you know this song?" Taiki asked, looking a bit shocked.  
"Don't know. It doesn't matter."  
"It--"

Ruby was looking at them. It appeared that he'd been put on hold by the pc a while back. Only, now, those muddy green eyes weren't hostile, just vaguely interested, willing to agree on a truce.

"Laat mij eens, Saan."

Saan got up and let her brother sit down. He gave Taiki a sidelong look.  
"Let's dance, you and I."

Taiki was sweating by the time Ruby finished. They'd played internationally known songs at rhythms three times faster than they should be played.

"You two are so childish," Saan chastised in English.  
"Nog erger of je vindt het erg. Komaan, laat me eens naar dat computertje van je kijken, zussielief."  
Ruby was smiling when he started typing away on the pc again.  
"Dat was leuk. Wa's die gast zijn naam, trouwens?"  
"Taiki Kou."  
Ruby frowned and was quiet for a while.  
"Taiki is zijn voornaam," Saan supplied helpfully.  
"Dank u."

Saan smiled and looked up.  
"I'll go make something to eat for you boys. Don't kill each other while I'm gone."  
She danced out of the room, and seemed happy.

The boys were quiet for a while.  
"I used to be like you," Taiki said, in English. "It hurts, doesn't it?"  
Ruby froze.  
"How do you know how I feel?"  
"I am guessing. You are away from home, as I once was, and no one acts like they do in your home, and no one understands you and how dare life go on when you're so miserable. It hurts, doesn't it?" Taiki repeated. Ruby gave him a long look, then nodded.  
"It probably hurts even more that you can't help your little sister. That she can take better care of herself than you can."  
"That isn't true! Evelyn--" Ruby said, coming from his chair. Upstairs, a baby started crying.  
"Shuck. Ik kom, Eefje! Just a sec, mate."

Ruby came back with a tiny baby in his arms.  
"...Your... Your... I can't remember the word. Your imoutochan? Like Saan." Taiki asked. Ruby frowned.  
"Evelyn's my little sister, if that's what you mean."  
"Has she ever seen her homeland?"  
"Only a hospital. Mom just happened to be in Brussels. One week leave and I get paid to do au pair work for my own sibling. She only hears Flemish here. Mom and dad speak either French or English, and Saan... She seems to speak everything," Ruby shrugged.  
"Doesn't she try to--"  
"She sings to Eefje in Dutch. Silly songs I don't remember. She's two months old in a few weeks. Born on the twenty-fifth of February," Ruby said, gently rocking the girl in his arms.  
"She's young. Where are your parents?" Taiki frowned.  
"At work. They'd probably have paid until Saan could enter the school if she hadn't been accepted."  
"Saan was lucky to change classes so early in the school year," Taiki said. Ruby seemed confused.  
"How so?"  
"Well, classes have only been going on for two weeks. In Japan, they start on the first of April. She won't be able to participate in some contest and most exchange programs, I'm afraid."  
"What kind of contests?" Ruby asked.  
"Contests in foreign languages, both speech and written. If she were to look Japanese, this would not be the case," Taiki explained. Ruby laughed.  
"Doubt that's gonna be a problem. Saan doesn't believe in school-taught language. She believes in being able to shout back at the jerk across the street, something worse if possible."  
Ruby lifted Evelyn up, who giggled cheerfully.  
"Ons zusje is een echte straatloper, hé?"  
"Muuuh," replied the child.

"I wish I could speak your language."

Ruby looked up in surprise.  
"Why?" he asked.  
"Perhaps I'm interested."  
"You're--" Ruby frowned.

"Chocolate cake's ready!" Saan called from the kitchen. Ruby looked from the door to Taiki and back. Then he smiled at Taiki.  
"I'll never get you Japanese guys. You hurt my sister, I hurt you, got that?" Ruby asked. Taiki laughed and nodded.  
::::::::::  
"Saan..." Yaten squirmed, trying to get loose from the frightened embrace he'd gotten caught in. The gaijin girl was hanging onto his neck desperately, not wanting to come out of the limo. She was whimpering slightly, her eyes unfocused, pupils dilated with fear. A bruise was still blooming on her upper arm in greens and purples and blues, the scratch on her face was covered with a band-aid. Seiya had gotten out already and disappeared from sight.  
"Saan, onegai."  
Saan's arms tightened.

The door opened and a familiar set of odangos came in.  
"Saan-san? Come on out, we're waiting," Usagi smiled. Saan looked up in confusion.  
"We met them here. Afraid we'd throw you to the sharks, Saan?" Seiya grinned. Saan had the decency to look sheepish. Usagi giggled and held out her hand. Saan took it and allowed herself to be pulled out.  
"So silly of you to lose your bracelet in the car, Saan-chan," Yaten lied smoothly, holding out a slender chain. Saan quickly clipped it onto her wrist, not paying attention to the trinket.  
"Gomen. Thanks for the ride, guys," Saan said softly.  
"We'll pick you up later, okay?" Yaten smiled.  
"Aa."  
Saan waved as they drove off.

A tall, sandy haired boy was laughing across the street. Makoto stepped up behind Saan.  
"Don't you have a life to get back to, Haruka?"  
The boy walked away.  
"Don't mind her. Haruka can be just stupid sometimes. Pretty bracelet, though," Makoto pointed out. Saan lifted it up to eye-height to look at it.  
"Not min--"

Minako nearly yanked Saan's arm out of its socket when she pulled it closer to see.  
"You have the ::single::, elite fan club-member-only Three Lights bracelet? That is so unfair! You weren't even around back then!" she cried out.  
"I'll give it back after school, promise," Saan hissed.  
"Why'd they give it to you?" Minako pouted.  
"You want to wear it? Fine, here."  
Saan tried to undo the bracelet. It wouldn't come off.  
"Nani?" Ami frowned, carefully looking at it.  
"It's not the First Member Bracelet, Minako-san. It's moonstone and opal. The Member Bracelet's got onyx instead of opals."  
Minako seemed disappointed.  
"It ::is:: pretty, though."  
Saan looked away.  
"Gomen, honestly," she said softly.  
"Don't be sorry. She's being rude and jealous. It'll pass in a minute," Usagi smiled.

"Demo... It won't come off. You try," Saan said, holding out her wrist. Ami carefully brought her hand over it. Muted white energy crackled along the chain and sparked over to Ami, who yanked her hand back.  
"Itai," she frowned, rubbing her fingertips carefully. Saan frowned angrily at the bracelet.  
"Oooh, wat zijn we grappig, Yaten. Echt. Giller."  
"Nani?" Makoto asked.  
"I think I'm going to discuss Yaten's sense of humor with him some time soon," Saan said calmly. The girls exchanged looks.  
"You do that."  
::::::::::  
Saan was lost in the rubble that had been a classroom. The Mathematics class had turned into a battlefield. A creature that had been her teacher had grown extra limbs, changed skin color and begun to spit acid.

There had been girls in brightly colored uniforms, two groups, and a man in a tuxedo with a mask, then three young women in outfits that reminded her of the night she'd accidentally wandered into the Ostend red light district, into 'one of those' clubs. Now, they were all out cold. The air was filled with smoke, smelling of... sulfur.

She was so scared, so cold, so alone, everything hurt.

"Zeg het tover... woord... en je hebt de... macht,  
Houd de maansteen vast... en voel... de kracht..." she chanted hesitantly,  
"Wie kan het doen?  
Oh, Sailor Moon."  
(A/n: Dutch opening song. Translation: Say the magic word and you have the might  
Hold the moonstone tight and feel the power  
Who can do it?  
Oh, Sailor Moon.)

::Help me. He didn't understand, and I don't, but help me, whoever gave him this,:: Saan thought feverishly.

"Strijd voor overwinning van de duisternis;  
Jij weet hoe slecht soms deze wereld is.  
Je moet het doen,  
Oh, Sailor Moon."  
(A/N: translation: Fight for victory over the darkness;  
You know how bad this world is sometimes.  
You have to do it,  
Oh, Sailor Moon.)  
Her voice was trembling.

"Use your bracelet, Terra-chan."

A tall, stately woman with a key-like staff was standing in front of her. Saan could see the rubble through the hazy image.

"Wa--Nani?"  
"Use the bracelet."

Saan was frowning.  
"How?"  
The woman flickered and disappeared.

Saan looked at the innocuous links of gold.

"Tasukete," she whispered, "I'm all alone. Tasukete."

The stones started to flicker, strobe, one by one, faster and faster, until Saan had the feeling she was staring into a revolving star that had gotten stuck on her wrist somehow. The strange, creamy white light exploded into four balls of color.

Saan, trying to look beyond the glare of her bracelet, only saw four shadowy figures throw themselves at the monster, heard primal sounds that reminded her of little puppies whose mother had just died, battle so fierce it made her tremble, so much blood she could almost taste it, felt so very cold, so very alone and so very trapped under all the ice.  
::::::::::  
"Look! You like?" the smallest boy beamed as he and his friend searched under the snow for pebbles to finish their snowman.

She giggled and tottered over the strange white substance. The entire garden was covered in it, and it had even magicked the lake's water away and filled up the hole.

And then she saw his black hair, his black cloak whipping behind him. She laughed and cried out, waving frantically at her brother. He didn't look up, couldn't hear her.

She stuck out her lip in a pout and decided to go over to him. Straight on was the shortest way. You didn't sink deeply in this stuff, and if she fell, the four boys or her brother would see and help her up. She smiled at how smart she was and waddled over to the edge of the no-longer-lake and looked at the snow. It had more glitters here, as though the hole hadn't been filled by the whiteness, but by the glass that kept the wind out in her room. She carefully took a step onto it. The glass under her groaned crackled. She liked the sound. It sounded so... alive! She took another step, and another, and another. Crack, crack, crack, crack.

She giggled and looked back. Her four protectors were standing behind her, eyes wide. The little blonde boy was disrobing. He'd always been the silly one. She turned, back, stepping and--

Crash--

She cried out in shock, cut short as the cold water hit her chest and knocked the wind out of her tiny body.

--splash.

The water carried her down, pulled at her clothes which were turning heavier by the moment. She tried to scream, but there was no air. She kicked her chubby legs, like the blonde boy had taught her, when the water had been warm and welcoming instead of cold and stinging. She wanted to cry. Where were her protectors, her playmates, her friends? She felt so tired, she was getting trapped in her heavy, loose clothing, she couldn't move. Couldn't see them. So alone. So cold.

Then everything went dark and cold and she was lonely forever.  
::::::::::  
She woke up in the warm lap of a man with long, blonde curls that looked vaguely like...

"Princess?" he asked hopefully, eyes so scared she could almost see them tremble in time with his body.

...She couldn't remember. She'd seen him before, hadn't she? He looked like--

--snow--glass--lake--alone--so cold--

He gently cradled her close to his chest.  
"Praise the Planets," he whispered into her hair. She looked down at herself and frowned.  
"Why do my clothes look like a reject Sailor V Halloween costume?" she mumbled.  
"Sailor V?" the man frowned, a gloved hand slipping over her forehead. His clear blue eyes clouded over with worry.

"Burning Mandala!!!"  
"Mars! Don't!" shouted the girl in the blue uniform. She was wearing a blue visor, holding a tiny, tiny computer. A ball of fire was coming at them. The other blonde man, the one not holding her, jumped up in front of them, sword drawn. He held it out in front of him, straight up, hand steadying it at the tip. The fire roared past them. The taller blonde went tense.

Her apparent caretaker helped her up as the flames subsided. The other man was trembling. Another took his place as he dropped down, this one pale as snow, hair shimmering and pristinely white, as if it was spun from diamonds.

"Crescent Beam Shower!!!"  
"Iie!!"  
The blue-haired girl seemed shocked beyond belief.

Saan gently untangled herself from the arms of the small man as the energy hit the sword. She put the weakened blonde well into the circle of protection, catching the pale man as he fell. The last man took his place.

The brown haired girl's hands were already glowing with energy, but she looked at the blue one.  
"What is it, Mercury?"  
"It's not them! The reading's completely different! Look at them, Jupiter!"

The tall girl looked at the man in front of them.  
"You've grown a lot stronger," he said.  
"You've got five seconds to explain this mess before I blast you back to wherever you popped up from," the girl replied.

"Our Princess Called us. We came."

"Your what?" 'Jupiter' frowned.  
"Our Princess," the man said, gesturing to Saan. "Prince Endymion's imoutochan, ne?"  
A girl with hair that reminded Saan of Usagi's somehow frowned.  
"But... Mamo-chan's an only child, yes? Ami-chan?"

'Mercury' was typing on her pc.  
"Of course he is. Their DNA's are totally different. But..." Tap. Tap tap. Taptaptap. "This doesn't make sense at all," Mercury frowned.  
"Try calling upon the Silver Millennium family tree," the man in front of Saan suggested. Mercury glanced at him, a flash of doubt, but apparently entered it, because she frowned again.  
"This can't be. She ::died:: before the war," she insisted.  
"Your Queen bade all Senshi reborn. She even made her own daughter one, gave the Inners the same kind of leader as the Outers had," Saan's caretaker said.  
"You mean Pluto?" asked the girl who had shot the energy bolt.  
"I mean Terra," the blonde frowned.  
"Terra?" the blonde not-Usagi asked in utter confusion, turning to Mercury for help. The trusty computer seemed to have all the answers.  
"Terra," Mercury pointed at Saan,  
"Sailor Senshi of Life and Passion, Soul."  
"Excuse me?" Mars asked.

And suddenly, Saan had the words.

"I am the tornado caused by the beat of a butterfly's wings, I am the stream that will never go the same way again because a lover moved a stone to be remembered by, I am the flooding wave caused by the movement of the smallest of sea-creature ever discovered, I am what makes Death reality and causes time to flow. I am the beauty and emotion of your lover, your songs and your favorite things. I am Outer and insubstantial, as you are Inner and touchable. I am Terra, the true shape of the Earth," she said.  
"By Earth meaning your human form," Mercury said.  
"Indeed."  
"Can we trust you?" Mars asked.  
"If the plan's to kick some icky-thing-butt, then yeah, you can. The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Saan smiled. The girls that had gotten up looked sheepish.  
"Your guards saved us. Doumo arigato," the not-Usagi said.  
::::::::::  
"Saan-san! Saan-san!"

Yaten stopped dead in his tracks as he saw Saan in the park, apparently trying to teach the four guys (who Ami had identified and researched thoroughly) something apparently concerning string with balls on them. Saan looked up, noticed him and smiled, waved at him.

"Yaten-kun!"

He walked over to them. The four men didn't give off the aura of evil. Usagi had talked about several cases of friend-turned-enemy-to-lower-their-resolve, and they'd decided to give the men a chance. Saan seemed to be safe, and happy.

"You want to learn, too?" she asked, just as the smallest one of them, with flax-colored curls that brushed his shoulder blades, hit himself in the face and winced.  
"It seems to be a rather painful hobby," Yaten commented. Saan laughed and took a pair of... socks from the bag next to her.  
"Sock poi. If you think their butterflies are painful in practice, imagine this one."

Saan spun the bright green fabric around and over her, wove them in what looked like one, smooth movement around her waist, her legs and--  
"Groin wrap," Saan grinned.  
"I think I'll watch," Yaten said. Saan smiled and went back to rummaging in her bag. She came up with a frisbee.  
"It's prettier in the dark, but do you want to play, Yaten-kun?" she smiled. Yaten noticed that the four men were apparently too preoccupied with dodging their own toys to care what Saan did. He nodded.

Their game seemed to last forever, the disc going from one to the other, sometimes being missed, sometimes not. Yaten was surprised to see he liked this girl's presence. She didn't ask annoying questions, seemed content to just amuse them both. And as it turned dark, Saan fiddled with the disc, turning it into a circle of blue light, flying over the grass. The four men had stopped practicing to watch, and Yaten felt himself frown.

They were not evil, didn't feel evil, just as Rei had grudgingly admitted. They felt good to him.

"Won't you join us?" he asked. The men shook their heads.  
"Iie. We think we'll watch," the tallest, palest one, Kunzite, said.  
"You five seem to have grown close. Forgotten about us, Saan?" Yaten asked. Saan seemed shocked.  
"Of course not! I just--they--"  
She motioned helplessly.  
"They just asked, we--we got talking and--"  
Yaten nodded.  
"Okay."  
"Are you angrily in me?" Saan asked. Yaten chuckled.  
"Iie. I am not angry with you," he shook his head.

"Saan-san, are we getting you in trouble?" Nepherite asked. Saan looked at him.  
"Iie. You guys seem worried about getting other people into trouble, though."  
"We once screwed up monumentally. It was ages ago, but..." Jadeite said.  
"Regret's a sharp and patient blade. It cuts slowly and painfully, and the pain doesn't dull until you get forgiveness, ne?" Saan smiled. They nodded.  
"Wise beyond your years," Kunzite remarked.  
"You're not the only screw-ups in town, boys," Saan laughed. Yaten grinned.  
"Seiya can be quite forgiving for a pretty girl near tears, Saan," he said.  
"I know. It's kind of him."  
"You were right. Seiya might seem lively, but he is not alive, not really. He lives for three, perhaps four things in this universe. His music, his duties, his ruler and love. He only has three out of that, and the ruler cut him loose. Two out of three can be quite..."  
"...Not enough," Zoisite said softly. Yaten nodded.  
"Aa. We cannot play music for entire days, we cannot perform our duties unless there is need and he cannot flirt with every girl in Tokyo without crushing a few hearts under his heel, and so he is..."  
"...All alone."  
Saan was looking out into the park.

"Tokyo feels alive tonight," she said.  
"I'd agree, but you're being literal, ne? What does it mean, that Tokyo is alive?" Yaten asked. Saan shrugged.  
"I never felt it so clearly. It's been like this for a few days now, since the attack on the school, I think. I can feel the slightest nuance, detail. Like I could only see light and dark before, and now I have full sight. Sometimes I see things, too. Colors, shapes, around things."  
Yaten put a hand on her shoulder.  
"So you are finally getting the true power befitting all the shunning you've received. I am glad for you, Saan-san," he said.  
"Tokyo feels alive tonight," Saan repeated, looking behind her, at the men. She smiled.  
"I want to dance. Can we?"  
"We could."

Yaten didn't remember the last time he'd danced in trousers since leaving Earth. Just skirts, layers of them, and only power-hungry lechs to dance with. He grinned as he remembered how he'd made sure those particular characteristics wouldn't breed through in any royal houses. He laughed as people shamelessly rubbed up to him, bodies suggesting, teasing, miming.  
'You want me, take me, show me'. Only Earth had this utter lack of inhibition that they called night life. Only this tiny blue planet had these wondrously beautiful girls who believed in more than survival or embroidery and being a good wife. Only Terra had this freedom.

He stopped in shock as he saw Saan... glitter?

She danced not to the beat of the music, but to something else, eyes closed, body swaying, arms high above her head. She wasn't glittering. There were images shifting over her, flickering on briefly before becoming something else. Yaten blinked at her.

A girl with long brown curls and a white gown and a crown of oak leaves--blink--A man in a toga, bloodied hands raised in prayer--blink--A naked man, floating in midair, chest cut open, his heart three inches above his chest, torn out--blink--A ring of small children, dancing around her, laughing--blink--A two year old girl with a bluish hue around her, hair black under the frost, cradled in the arms of a young boy with eyes like twin sapphires...

A thousand happy and less happy moments that reeked of energy strobed around her, and she danced to the beat of their appearance. He carefully reached out to her and touched her shoulder.

Saan opened her eyes, and the images disappeared. He started to open his mouth to say something that would explain his touch, but it turned out to be unnecessary as Saan dropped down to the floor, saved only from a nasty fall by Nepherite catching her in time.  
"We best get her out! It's probably the heat in here!" Yaten shouted over the music. The men nodded and got Saan from the middle of the dance floor, into the air conditioned hallway. Saan's eyes opened almost immediately.  
"You're burning up," Nepherite informed her.  
"I feel so tired," Saan mumbled. The four men exchanged worried glances.  
"I'll bring you home," Yaten said. Saan nodded.  
"Alright."  
::::::::::  
The next day, after school, at the arcade, Saan looked revitalized, a lot happier than they'd ever seen her. Even Motoki noticed.

"What did you feed her last night, Yaten-kun?" Minako smiled as Saan sipped her pineapple bubble tea while filling out her homework on her laptop.  
"Noting all that spec--Saan, did you invite them?"  
Yaten motioned to the four men who had just entered the arcade. Saan looked up and shook her head.  
"Iie. They told me they'd be looking for a job today, when I asked."

Saan didn't notice how Makoto balled a fist, or how Rei readied a ward, and smiled.  
"Kunzite-san! Zoisite-san! Nepherite-san! Jadeite-san! Over here!" she waved. The four seemed a bit hesitant to come over, but did, slowly, like a set of dogs expecting a blow.  
"Konnichiwa, Saan-san," came the mumbled greeting in unison.  
"I thought the four of you went job-hunting today. What happened?" Saan asked.  
"We, uh, got one."  
"That's good," Saan smiled,  
"Something you like?"  
"We don't know. We've never done it."  
"What is it, then?"  
"Modeling."

Saan frowned.  
"I didn't know you guys had portfolios."  
"We didn't. There was a man coming out of the office, shouting that the other man didn't have what he needed and it was an outrage, and then he saw us and told him that that was what he needed. Apparently, he was the Japanese boss of some kind of international clothing brand," Nepherite said softly.  
"What were you doing there, in the first place?"  
Rei's voice held a hint of fine, burning anger.  
"The man was looking for a secretary," Jadeite offered.

Seiya grinned.  
"Well, sounds like reason to celebrate. What do you guys want to drink?" he asked jovially. The look Makoto sent him was downright murderous. The four quickly shook their heads.  
"We did not mean to trouble anyone. We just..." Zoisite stuttered.  
"We meant to inform Saan that we had found employment," Kunzite said stonily.  
"We will leave. We're not wanted," Jadeite nodded.  
"That's not true." Ami said softly. Zoisite smiled wanly.  
"You're still the worst of liars, Amini," he shook his head, and left with his friends.

"I'm missing something here," Saan commented.  
"Zoisite-san is right, though, Ami-san. My sister's a better liar than you are."  
"Your sister's an infant, Saan-san," Taiki remarked.  
"She can lie, most effectively to my brother." the girl countered.  
"How do you know?" Ami asked, glad for the change of subject. Saan looked down and started typing again.  
"Lies, whether by words or actions, are very dead things," she said, voice carefully neutral. An uncomfortable silence fell over the table.

"So..." Minako urged.  
"I know you lied about where you were during the attack. And that time when we were supposed to meet in the gym. And those thousand-and-one times you said you were talking about something unimportant. But I don't own you, and everybody lies more than once a day, so it's not important. It's none of my business--"

Saan gasped, eyes wide. She whipped her head up.  
"Don't do that, for God's sake!"  
She was trembling. Seiya carefully touched her.  
"Saan-san..." he said.  
"Gomen. We should have--"  
"Matte!"  
Saan slapped at his hand, voice high and shrill. Seiya grabbed her more firmly, twisting her towards him. Saan started shrieking, sharp, piteous sounds that made Motoki rush over to their table. It didn't help.

And then Kunzite rushed inside, pulling both Motoki and Seiya off. He picked Saan up as though she weighed nothing and held her closely, protectively against his chest. Nepherite, Zoisite and Jadeite crowded around her.

They whispered to her, and they could understand it, and sense nothing magical about it. It just didn't make sense. Apparently, they were providing her with either happy or terrifying thoughts. When she'd calmed down, Yaten spoke up.  
"You left out the little drowned girl."  
Jadeite turned his head.  
"She was upset. You were upset. Us being upset, too, wouldn't help, it would worsen it."

"Can someone tell me what just happened?" Motoki asked angrily. Kunzite was carefully stroking Saan's hair. She was crying softly.  
"Some psychological traumas leave mental scars," he said evenly. Motoki looked from Saan to the imposing, tall man, standing over her the way mountains stand around tiny villages, sheltering them from the harshest weather.  
"...Oh. Gomen nasai."  
Taiki jumped up, already opening his mouth, but something in Nepherite's warmly green eyes was hard and angry and keeping him from offering to bring Saan home.  
"We will escort her home."  
::::::::::  
Seiya had planned to pick her up the next morning, alone, without the others. Her brother had already told him she wouldn't be coming to school that day. All her previous good cheer had been drained away to leave a hollow look and sickly face. He put the bag with the computer on her desk.

"Ohayo."

Saan's voice was barely louder than a whisper, hoarse.

"We didn't mean to hurt you."

Seiya's was hurt, an attempted apology. He reached out to... something. She'd scared them the day before.

"Don't touch me right now. I was stuck between you guys. You touched me. I--"

Saan shook her head weakly.  
"It's bad, when I'm like that. I don't understand how Ite-kun got me back."  
"I think I do, but I'm not sure I can tell," Seiya replied. He kneeled down next to her bed.  
"It's better than lies, when I'm honest."  
"Your Japanese is still... funny."  
"I'm missing classes," Saan said softly.  
"You mind?" Seiya asked.  
"I feel weak. I tried getting up, but fell down. My oniichan had to bring up breakfast," she whispered. Seiya looked behind him and saw tears in her eyes.  
"You must really hate your gift," he said softly.  
"Aa."

Seiya's cell phone going off with a musical jingle made them both jump a little.  
"Evelyn will wake up if you don't take that."

Saan watched Seiya's whispered side of the conversation, amused that he was actually worried about a girl he'd never seen before.

"I have to go."  
Saan shook her head weakly, smiling a little.  
"You're a cowboy, Seiya Kou."  
Seiya blinked.  
"Nani?"  
"Like the song? 'Cowboy Guarantee'?" she asked.  
"I still don't understand."  
"You come in, cheer me up, convince me there's hope for me yet, somehow, then leave. And I don't really mind."  
Saan was smiling. Seiya reached down and squeezed her shoulder lightly.  
"I'll look around for a horse," he joked.  
"I'll get you a hat," Saan replied, yawning.  
"Sleep a little. If you're feeling better tomorrow night... Here."  
He held out a plastic card on a lanyard.  
"First concert of the Three Lights, Back from the Dark Tour. The others have one, too."  
"Ite-kun, too?" Saan asked hopefully.  
"If I find them, they'll get them, too. The girls can be pissy if they want. They never did me wrong and they aren't evil for as far as I can tell."  
"They're not evil! Who said they were?" Saan asked.  
"Minako-chan, but she can be a bit... extreme. Five hundred yen says she'll be the first to make a pass at one of them," Seiya offered.  
"I'll raise you another five hundred and say Kunzite-kun will be even quicker to make a pass on them," Saan said.  
"You're on."  
::::::::::

Afterthought: One of the reasons this thing first appeared on was because it's simply a less demanding archive. This story might contain some minor differences to the one on 


	2. Chapter 2: Want You Back

Author's note: This is as far as I'd gotten before deciding to put it on Zoisite won't be the only one who gets what he wants. It's a rule to get a matching set in this kind of story, isn't it?  
Disclaimer: See Ch. 1. It still applies.  
Warnings: See Ch. 1. They count for the entire story.

Chapter 2: Want You Back

Don't know how it's been for you.  
Are you seeing someone?  
Just tell me,  
Are you happy?  
It's good to hear your voice again.  
Better if you tell me you still want me.  
'Cause you still have me.  
You're the one thing that matters.  
Do I matter, too?

If you think baby after so long  
That I'm over you, baby, you're so wrong:  
I want you back.  
Every time I kiss, I still kiss you.  
No matter who it is, I still miss you.  
I want you back  
In my life.  
-Natalia 'I Want You Back'  
::::::::::  
Minako gasped as she dragged the group towards one of the numerous stands selling either food or Three Lights merchandise.

Upon finding the four ex-Generals there, they'd decided to let them tag along but ignore them. Their strange way of keeping an eye on Saan seemed to be enough of an excuse to stay near her.

"Minako-chan, you already spent all your money on those plastic roses. And the talking action figures. And the plushies," Ami said. Minako looked up and checked her wallet. Her smile dropped.  
"But I don't have this one yet. It's a new one," she said, looking longingly at the T-shirts. Kunzite worked his way to the front of the group.  
"What is the problem?"  
"Minako spent all her money and now she hasn't enough left for a T-shirt," Usagi said, twirling around her single red rose.  
"And there will be no other occasion for this?"  
"In Kyoto, on a school night, next month. Kaasan and Tousan will never let me go, let alone pay for a ticket," Minako pouted. Kunzite reached into his back pocket.  
"I do not see what makes it so much different from what you are wearing--"  
He waved vaguely at her Three Lights T-shirt.  
"This one is not the official Back From the Dark Tour-T-shirt!" Minako shouted.  
"And that makes it special?"  
Minako seemed ready to hurt him.  
"It's a collector's item. The Lights don't hand the items from this tour out because the profits go to the Tokyo University Hospital, children's cancer ward." Ami said.  
"Ah, I see. That explains these ridiculously high prices." Kunzite nodded patiently, reaching into his back pocket. Minako took a step back, before he came up with his own wallet.

She frowned.  
"What are you doing?" she asked.  
"Trying to counter some of my bad karma," Kunzite shrugged as he paid for a T-shirt. He held it to Minako.  
"There you go."  
Minako looked at the shirt in suspicion, then to the small, insecure smile on his face.  
"You said you wanted one," Kunzite said, as if that made perfect sense.  
"Why buy me one, then?"  
"You wanted one," Kunzite repeated. His smile was starting to lose it's battle with a slow, panicky frown.  
"And so you buy me one? Out of the goodness of your heart?" Minako asked suspiciously.  
"Iie. You'd be sad if you did not get one. So I bought you one."  
"What do you care if I'm sad?!" Minako demanded.

"Minako-san, Ite-kun was just trying to make you happy. Is that so bad?" Saan asked.  
Minako turned to Saan with a vengeance.  
"What do you care if he--"  
"He comes alive when he sees you."  
The quiet reply hung in the air, between the laughing and chattering of the other concert-goers.  
"What does that mean?" Minako asked. Saan shrugged calmly.  
"Just what I can feel. He comes alive when he sees you, more so when he is near you, even if you are being vicious. A benevolent kind of life."  
"How would you know what benevolent is for him?" Minako gritted out.  
"Malevolent would be shouting at you, hitting you, hurting you back, wouldn't it? Malevolent or painful would make me sick," Saan said.

Kunzite looked at the T-shirt in his hands, not caring that Saan was trying to convince Minako to let go of what probably amounted to one of her most basic mind-sets.

He was so stupid.

Walking into the trap.  
Not fighting the spell harder.  
Clinging to Zoisite as he'd done.  
Believing he could make Minako smile with just a stupid piece of clothing.

But his hand wouldn't let go of it. He carefully shook it out.

He'd seen the way Minako looked at the pale one. Pale, long hair, longer than his. A warmer white, somehow. Colored eyes. Softer features. Less bulky. Less assassination attempts on his name. Better than him. So much better. What did he care about Minako being sad?

"I care," Kunzite said at last. The girls stopped arguing and looked at him in confusion.  
"You asked if I cared for you," Kunzite said, pressing the shirt in Minako's hand, "and it's probably less than your white friend cares, but I care, too."  
Kunzite's grey eyes were carefully icy, distant as storm clouds raining out somewhere else. Minako looked at the T-shirt in her hands.  
"I--Arigato."  
Minako was stammering for more words when the speakers announced that the concert was about to begin.

Halfway through the third song, Saan swooned. Mamoru steadied her before she fell.  
"Saan-san?" he asked. She shook her head.  
"Daijibou. I'm just tired."  
"Perhaps you should go backstage. It's cooler there."  
"But I want to hear--Itai!"

Saan hit the ground hard as someone bumped into her.  
"Oh! Gomen nasai!" Yuuichiro said, helping her back up. Jadeite pushed him angrily.  
"You should watch where you're going! She could've gotten hurt!" he shouted. Yuuichiro blinked.  
"I apologized. She didn't--"  
"You--"  
Rei stepped between the two men.  
"Leave him alone, Jadeite!"  
"What do you care about him? He is nothing to you!"

The slap left an angry red mark on his cheek.

"Don't you dare talk about him!" Rei shouted.  
"He made Saan fall!" Jadeite pointed.  
"It was an accident! Yuuichiro-kun doesn't go around terrorizing girls, unlike some people I know!"

Yuuichiro put a hand on Rei's shoulder.  
"Rei-san, please calm down a little."

"Stay out of--" Jadeite started, before Mamoru tugged him away from Rei and Yuuichiro.  
"Saan is feeling unwell. Take her backstage, before something else happens," Mamoru said, nodding towards the hall's exit. Jadeite opened his mouth to protest.  
"If you don't want to get on Rei's very bad side, you leave the subject Yuuichiro untouched and holy," Mamoru said softly, pushing Saan gently into Jadeite's hands.

Saan tugged him away from the crowd, from the others.  
"What was that all about?" Jadeite asked.  
"Rei likes Yuuichiro, or so we think. We know he'd give up one of his most treasured possessions to just go out with her once."  
Jadeite stopped, pale.  
"She--she has--She's taken a lover?" he whispered.  
"No. She's got a not-quite crush on him."  
"Rei-chan has a lover?" Jadeite repeated, the way people who see their world about to come crashing down repeat things.  
"Not yet. They're getting there, though," Saan blinked.

Jadeite fell into a chair as soon as they hit the Lights' dressing room. Saan stretched out onto the sofa.

"You like Rei-chan, then?" Saan asked. Jadeite nodded miserably.  
"Ite-kun..."  
"What does he have that I don't?" Jadeite asked hopelessly.  
"Money. A kind of naiveté or... well... stupidity that melts Rei's heart. A sun tan, perhaps. Uh... Ite-kun? Daijibou?"

Saan got up, stumbled over to him. He was crying.  
::::::::::  
They laughed as the four young men flew in and dove under their booth's table.

"Sanctuary!"

"Looks like someone's in trouble," Seiya remarked.  
"We didn't do anything!" Zoisite announced in a small voice from underneath Taiki's milkshake. Ami returned to her drink.  
"I didn't know you were a ventriloquist, Taiki-kun," she smiled. Taiki laughed.  
"We're harboring fugitives under the table, actually, Ami-san," Taiki informed her. Saan peeked under the table.  
"What are you hiding from, actually?" she giggled. "There's seats free, you know."

"Oh," said Yaten's lemonade. Kunzite slipped up, sat down next to the pale-haired boy. The others scrambled up, scratching the backs of their heads in embarrassment.  
"They were chasing us," Kunzite protested.  
"And they didn't seem... Well, word-dominating kind of evil..." Jadeite continued. Zoisite nodded energetically.  
"And--and--and! It seemed unnecessary to hurt them, so we sort of..."  
"Ran," Nepherite deadpanned. "We felt unreasonably threatened by a semi-large group of girls who apparently felt a need to invade our personal space and chase us throughout Tokyo, so we ran."  
"And you can say it with dignity, too," Yaten remarked.  
"There are more shameful things to admit to," Nepherite explained. Ami bit her lip shyly, trying not to laugh.  
"Why did they chase you, then?" Saan asked. The four of them shrugged in unison.  
"Some of them were waving some magazines," Jadeite pointed out.

"Maybe they wanted to hit you guys over the head with them," Rei suggested as she came back from a claw machine. Saan sighed.  
"Why are you so mean to Ite-kun, Rei-san? They're nice guys," she said. Yaten shrugged.  
"She's got a point."  
"Don't make me laugh," Rei sniffed.  
"C'mon, Rei," Seiya cajoled, completely missing the 'don't go there' gestures made by Jadeite. "What did they ever do to you?"

Rei clenched her fists, eyes alight with rage.  
"They ruined my life," she seethed. "And ::HE:: started it!" she pointed at Jadeite. Saan seemed shocked. Taiki turned to reason.  
"From what I hear from Ami-san, none of them could help themselves at the time. And you would never have met any of your friends if they had not been there. You would still be alone, Rei-san."  
"That's not true!" Rei shouted, and ran out.

Jadeite slumped down into his seat, biting back tears.  
"So much for that," he whispered sadly.  
"I'll go talk to her," Saan said, patting his shoulder and going out, after Rei.

"So... Mizuno-san told you about us?" Kunzite asked conversationally. Ami blushed.  
"Just... Readings and... Well, pretty much the story of how we ended up being... What we are," she said. Nepherite sighed.  
"Also the Silver Millennium?" he asked. Ami nodded.  
"Of course."  
"The entire story? Or just what you remember?"  
Ami frowned.  
"We remember everything we need to know, don't we? I mean, you guys were probably just caught by Beryl because you were... Powerful?" she asked. Jadeite shrugged.  
"You don't remember everything," he announced. He got up, got some change out of his pocket and chose out a game to play.

"He seems unhappy," Seiya remarked, a bit put out himself. Kunzite shook his head.  
"We know. He's been like this ever since he met Rei's friend during the concert," he said.  
"Yuuichiro? He's been going after Rei for years. And she after him. Well, she goes after him when she needs a boyfriend," Ami shrugged. Zoisite shook his head.  
"She likes the boy."  
"I never said she didn't. There's other boys she could ask, but she always asks Yuuichiro."

They were quiet for a while. Motoki cleared the empty glasses, Minako and Makoto came to say goodbye. Usagi and Mamoru were making more noise than seemed necessary at a game console.

"So... Were you... ::really:: chased by girls?" Ami blushed. Zoisite grinned nervously.  
"Aa. From work to he--"

"EEEEE!!! They're here!!!"

"Hell," Kunzite groaned as a herd of young girls stormed in, straight at them.  
"Looks like we're not the only ones with fans any more," Seiya laughed as the mob mauled them for autographs, pictures and poses. The remaining trio seemed dumbfounded. Ami giggled, drawing Zoisite's gaze towards her. When had it gotten so... stuffy... in the arcade?  
::::::::::  
A routine settled down, slowly. Saan's 'Ite-kun' would be chased down to the arcade, where they'd all be waiting. Sometimes they were left alone, sometimes not.

Jadeite would try to convince Rei he wasn't evil incarnate, and Rei would find new ways to try and make clear to him she didn't believe him.  
Zoisite would, very, very quietly and unobtrusively, try to draw Ami's attention.  
Kunzite would every so often take a shot at wooing Minako, always making sure he was well out of her personal space by the time she started thinking about what had just happened.  
And Nepherite would be there to draw them all back to earth and out into the park, where they'd play with those peculiar toys Saan had introduced them to.

Saan and the Three Lights thought it was hilarious to see, which it was, at first. Kunzite seemed to have no control at all, while Zoisite appeared to grow extra joints as he slipped the straps over his fingers.

And then...

"Jadeite isn't here?" Rei asked. Zoisite shook his head. His hair trailed into his drink.  
"Iie. He said he wanted to check some stuff out."  
The blonde grinned.  
"Why? Developing an interest?" he teased. Rei glared.  
"Iie. And cut your hair, if you can't control it better than that!"

Zoisite looked up. When he noticed, he jerked his head back, hand holding the glass jerking up to his hair. The glass went flying, spilling vanilla milkshake all over him and the table.

"Shimatta!"

Ami got up, letting him go to the restrooms. Motoki cleaned the mess up while he was busy.  
"Odd. Zoisite-kun is usually quite... graceful," he commented. Ami cocked her head.  
"Graceful?" she asked.

She tried to apply the word to Zoisite. She'd only seen him... Well, blundering along. He was quite nice, if you kept all fragiles and fluids away from him, able to follow a reasonably intelligent conversation, after a while of meaningless stuttering. Graceful didn't stick.

"Try spying on him," Saan suggested, eyes twinkling. "He only loses all semblance of control when he knows you're around. We're going to the park later."

Ami nodded. She knew they were going to the park later. They always went to the park after the arcade. She and Saan usually made their homework during lunch.

"You started... Something with a staff, a few days back, didn't you, Kunzite-san?" Ami asked. Kunzite nodded.  
"Long staff, yes. I'm more skilled at working solid objects, much like Nepherite, actually. I don't know quite as many tricks as he does, but he's been at it longer than I have. He gave up on poi much sooner than I," Kunzite laughed. "Probably says something about how often common sense wins it from sheer stubbornness with me."

Zoisite returned, wet shirt over his arm. His hair was dripping water all over his bare upper chest. Ami stared. Somehow, she'd imagined Zoisite half-naked--not that she'd done so often--a bit... softer. Without abs firm enough to break something on, at least.

"See something you like, Ami-chan?" Minako laughed as she came back from the fifth Sailor V game.

Zoisite was probably the least hated of the four men. He was the only one who looked completely different from his Dark Kingdom counterpart. Freckles. Tighter and longer curls. Platinum blonde hair instead of light brown. Eyes like a cloudless winter sky, the most perfect pale blue. A smile brighter than the sun.

Ami blushed and looked away.  
"You're being silly, Aino-san," Zoisite said. "Mizuno-san probably has a boyfriend already, anyway."  
"She hasn't. Hasn't had one since Urawa-san, right, Ami-chan?" Minako beamed. Ami shook her head desperately.  
"Iie. Ryo-kun is just a friend of mine," she protested weakly. Minako shrugged.  
"But he has it bad for you, doesn't he?" she asked.  
"I can imagine many boys to have that problem," Zoisite smiled gently. "Perhaps Urawa-san was the only one who dared speak his heart to Mizuno-san."

"So, basically, you're saying most guys would be too humiliated to speak their heart to Ami-chan?" Minako asked.  
"Iie! Iie!" Zoisite exclaimed, waving his arms defensively. "I didn't mean that at all!"  
"It sounded like it," Minako pointed out.

"Minako-chan, don't make Zoisite-san uncomfortable, please," Ami said quietly, looking at the table. "He was just trying to be polite."

Zoisite fidgeted nervously. Almost as if on purpose, his soaked shirt slid from his arm, to Ami's textbook. She caught it before it could hit the pages.

"I'll go ask Motoki-san if he has a plastic bag for this, then," she chuckled. "Before we have any more accidents."  
::::::::::  
It should have been wrong. He shouldn't have approached the youth at all. But... Jadeite had wondered about him. He'd gone over to the shrine one day, during school hours, when both Rei and his Princess were safely at school. It had been stronger than himself. He knew that tearing the boy limb from limb with his bare hands would not have won him Rei's favor, however strong that initial urge had been.

And then the boy had greeted him. It had become clear to Jadeite that he needed a reason for his presence, so he'd flapped something out. An apology. And the boy had laughed it away and invited him in.

They'd talked. A lot. Yuuichiro wasn't all that bad a man. He lost all of his smooth charm and nerve around Rei, but he would do anything and everything if it were to make the girl happy.

"Maybe we should start a self-help group," Yuuichiro suggested. "'Guys Who Cannot Find A Way To Make Clear To Hino Rei That They Are Heads Over Heels In Love With Her Perfect Self' Anonymous."  
Jadeite laughed.  
"A bit long, but the idea's sound," he commented.  
"You try for a better one, then," Yuuichiro shot back.  
"'Rei-Crushed Hearts United'?" Jadeite tried, and laughed. "We're pathetic when Rei's concerned."  
"And we don't mind, because it's Rei," Yuuichiro nodded. Jadeite raised his glass of green, strong-smelling liquid. Yuuichiro ticked his own against it.  
"Amen to that," Jadeite said, sipping his drink. "Almost makes me wish we had something alcoholic to drink instead of..."  
He grimaced.  
"'Green Calf'?"  
Yuuichiro shrugged.  
"At least I can make a few drinks," he defended himself. Jadeite shrugged and emptied his milk-with-mint-syrup. Yuuichiro took his glass.

"So, how was today's shoot?"  
"Hectic. Location flooded, make-up wet, you name it, we got it," Jadeite sighed. Yuuichiro grinned.  
"Bet you still looked stunning."  
"Naturally. I have an apartment to pay off," Jadeite said.  
"And you're going to be late for your date with Saan," Yuuichiro pointed out.  
"It's not a date!"  
"You're gonna be late all the same."

Jadeite looked at his watch and cursed.

"Better run, lover boy," Yuuichiro laughed as Jadeite stormed off.

Jadeite passed Rei down the stairs, earning him a surprised yelp. The girl looked after him for a moment before storming up the stairs. She hadn't forgotten Jadeite's rage at Yuuichiro. As a matter of fact, it was about everything keeping her idea of Jadeite's being evil incarnate standing.

The acolyte was washing some glasses in the kitchen as she ran in.  
"Ah, Rei-san," he nodded, smiling carefully.  
"What--What was Ja--"  
She gasped for air.  
"Jadeite? He came to talk some. Why?" Yuuichiro asked.  
"Talk?" Rei frowned.  
"He's been coming here for a while now. He's a good friend," Yuuichiro nodded. Rei saw a certain inalienable truth about to become untrue, looming at the horizon.  
"But--At the concert--"  
"I could see Saan-san was unwell. Jadeite and his friends hold her very dear. I don't know why, but I understand that he'd be upset when someone would hurt her."

Rei couldn't deny 'Ite-kun' cared a lot for Saan's well-being. One of their fans had tried to get closer by pulling Saan away by her long brown hair. The four of them had looked ready for murder when they heard her cry out. Ami had already told them Saan was not Beryl's reincarnation. But the four of them had taken them for their Princess, Queen, goddess.

"But..." she said softly. Yuuichiro looked up.  
"Rei-san? Daijibou ka?"

The dam broke. Rei started to cry.  
::::::::::  
Ami, normally, didn't approve of spying for anything else than Senshi business.

But... Studying in the park was nice. And Zoisite hadn't noticed her yet. He completely went up in his... dancing? Whatever it was, it was pretty. Zoisite seemed completely at ease. He smiled easily, prettier than the nervous little smile Ami'd grown used to.

He seemed less tense, this way. Less pressured. Ami felt her cheeks heat up as she realized Zoisite looked... very attractive, like this.

There was music, from a small boom box near them. Ami couldn't catch the lyrics, or most of the music, but she could feel the beat. The five of them were perfectly in tune with the rhythm, and each other. It was seamless teamwork.

Ami hardly recognized the blonde. Partly because his hair was braided and down his back, but also because she'd never seen the boy so focused and comfortable. He was smiling, his eyes sparkled with personality.

And then Kunzite's long, narrow rod slipped from his fingers, and everything collapsed like a house of cards in a typhoon. Saan laughed, a bubble of joy wiping away Kunzite's apologies as she showed him something. Zoisite took his towel and wiped the sweat from his face...  
...And noticed Ami on the bench as he came up again.

"Oh, right, we invited Mizuno-san," Saan beamed. "You were cleaning up, I think."  
For someone who hated it when anyone was lying, Saan herself was pretty good at it. Zoisite's easygoing manner disappeared faster than a snowball in a nuclear reactor.  
"Mizuno-san!" Zoisite squeaked. "Gomen, I didn't see you, I--" he gestured frantically.  
"You were having fun," Ami smiled nervously, staring at her shoes. "I know some kinds of fun make you both deaf and blind."  
Zoisite whimpered faintly, lips moving soundlessly. He paled to an almost corpse-like white.  
"You must love this a lot," Ami tried again when she got no reply.  
"I love you more!" Zoisite flapped out.

Silence, followed by a four-headed laugh.  
"That sure took you long enough," Kunzite nodded. Ami looked at them in confusion.  
"I don't understand--I--"  
"I can repeat it! Find tons of synonyms! Say it slower! Anything you like!" Zoisite offered frantically.  
"He's had it bad for you for a while now, I think, Mizuno-san," Nepherite explained.

"But--I thought--During--You and Kunzite--" Ami stammered. This was not happening. This couldn't be happening. Common sense dictated this could not be happening and she was stuck in a bizarre dream.  
"Oniisama and me?" Zoisite frowned. "When did I ::ever::--"  
Kunzite was laughing.  
"Bad choice of words. I was angry. Gomen for causing such confusion," he bowed.  
"You're... Brothers?"  
"Biologically? Emotionally? Historically? Yes," Kunzite said. "Even though we share little physical traits."  
"We share a father," Zoisite frowned. "You really thought I had something going on with oniisama?"  
He seemed hurt and confused and vaguely disgusted by the idea.

Saan coughed.  
"Ami-san, this is the first I heard of it," she said. Ami felt relieves. If Saan, who spent most of her free time with the four of them, had missed it, it wasn't bad that she hadn't noticed either.  
"You thought so, too?!" Zoisite squeaked. Saan shrugged in embarrassment, smiling nervously.  
"I sort of thought... Something... Might have... Once... Happened?" she tried.

"But you're not?" Ami asked hopefully.  
"Of course not!" Zoisite exclaimed.

Had they all really forgotten so much? That their own Princess didn't remember was bearable, but... But losing Ami had burned and stung and hurt in a million different ways.

"You didn't try anything because you believed I was standing in your way, Mizuno-san?" Kunzite laughed. Ami blushed.  
"Maybe," she admitted. "I don't really try to obtain anything that is obviously far beyond my reach, most of the time."  
"You usually get everything you want to get, Mizuno-san. Even if it appears to be unobtainable," Zoisite said. The smile he had now was gentle and soft and hopeful. It made butterflies Ami had believed long dead awaken from their hibernation and beat against the inside of her stomach. She smiled back shyly.  
::::::::::  
"I don't believe this," Makoto groaned. Saan giggled.  
"Ami-san having a boyfriend?" she asked.  
"Iie. I can't believe Ami got Zoisite. He's totally cute!" she exclaimed. "Anyways, wasn't he with--"

"Brothers," Saan said before Makoto could finish her sentence. Makoto stared at Kunzite.  
"I don't believe you," she deadpanned. "'Cute' and 'hot' and 'handsome' doesn't count when you're talking similarities."  
"But it does wonders for my ego, Kino-san," Kunzite smiled. "And we're both very light in coloration. That counts."  
"Perhaps," Makoto admitted, looking at Zoisite and Ami at the racing game. "But I still feel sort of cheated Ami has a boyfriend with cool hair and I don't."

Jadeite laughed.  
"You're jealous because you like Zoisite's hair?"  
"You ever had curls, blue-eyes? It's trickier than it seems." Makoto snapped. Jadeite shrugged.  
"I know. It's why I keep mine short," he said. "And Nepherite has curly hair, too, if that's what you're looking for."

"He loves Naru. You don't make passes at guys who already have a girlfriend," Makoto said.  
"I thought Naru was with... Whatsisname? Bowl cut, funky glasses, smart except when he tries for casual conversation?" Saan said.  
"Umino," Makoto helped.  
"Yeah, him. He's devoted to her beyond reason. You'd be mad to pass that up," Saan said.  
"Naru's done some pretty insane things for Nepherite, if I can believe Usagi," Makoto said. Saan looked at Nepherite.  
"While I will not deny that Kino-san's statement might be true, I doubt Osaka-san would remember me. I have not seen her in three years now," he said, voice pleasantly neutral.

"And saying I do stumble across a guy who's cute and nice and available," Makoto went on, too far gone in her self-pity to acknowledge the fact that what she was looking for was sitting eight inches to the right, blowing bubbles into his milkshake, "I have never kept a boyfriend than two weeks. I'm too tall and too violent and--"  
"Independent," Nepherite said as he watched his drink in fascination. "Fools," he added after a moment's thought.

"I'm repulsive," Makoto concluded.  
"You're not," Nepherite said calmly.  
"Stop being nice to me," Makoto snapped.  
"Would you prefer I be rude and mean?"  
Makoto frowned at him.  
"Why do you keep on making sense?"  
"Someone has to keep you from going into total depression, ne? It would be truly sad if there were no one to point out that--"

"--you're going to be late for that video game's shoot," Jadeite yawned. "And so's Zoisite."  
::::::::::  
"Sugoi! Mizuno-san, how did you get Diamond Druid Forest-Quest? It's not supposed to be out until next month!" Umino exclaimed, staring at the cd case in fascination. Ami quickly shoved it back between her books.  
"Her boyfriend gave it to her," Minako winked.  
"Nani? Ami has a boyfriend?"

The whispers escalated quickly. Every available boy in the school was matched and rejected.

Ami stared at the clock in desperation. Only ten more minutes and the last period--free study--would be over.

"Wataru, he--"  
"Iie, I'm not. I'd remember."

Five more minutes. Three hundred seconds. Not long at all. Ami fidgeted with her pencil. If only she could focus through all of this chatter. The constant mentioning of her name was so bothersome.

"Who is it, Mizuno-san?" Umino asked.  
"Nani?" she frowned.  
"Your boyfriend! Who is he?" Naru chimed in. "We give up!"  
"Oh! His name is Atlantinium Zoisite."

Three more minutes. Ami started to hope for a fault in the system, so the bell would ring sooner.

"What does he look like?" Naru asked. "Is he handsome?"  
Ami shrugged and got the cd case back out of her bag. She pointed at the winking wizard in the picture.  
"This is him," she said. Silence, then laughter.

"That's a video game character, Mizuno-san!"  
"Did she really--"  
"Kami-sama, so desperate--"

Ami felt tears well up in her eyes as the taunts became more plentiful.

The bell rang. Ami packed her bag and raced out. Her classmates' laughter followed her down the stairs, through the hallways and into the courtyard. Someone grabbed her arm, whirled her around into a firm embrace. Worried, ice-blue eyes looked at her.  
"Amini... What's the matter?"  
Ami wrapped her arms around him and cried.

Zoisite looked up at the group of staring students.  
"You have got to be kidding me," Wataru said in disbelief.  
"You're so mean, making fun of Ami like that," Minako sniffed, walking over to Zoisite.  
"Gomen. It's my fault. I sort of... Flapped out Ami had a boyfriend," she said. Zoisite shook his head.  
"Why does everyone seem to have so much trouble understanding that Amini has a boyfriend? Am I that ugly?" he asked.  
"Ami-chan just hasn't really had that much boyfriends yet," Minako sweatdropped.  
"That's no reason to make her cry!" Zoisite said angrily, tightening his grip on Ami. Minako laughed.  
"What?" he asked.  
"You two are the cutest," Minako giggled. "That's all."  
"What is that supposed to mean?"  
"It means you're a good boyfriend, protecting Ami-chan's virtue and honor the way you do, of course," Minako smiled. "Baka."

Zoisite stuck out his tongue at Minako. The girl chuckled and got into Seiya's car with the rest of the girls and the Lights.

"Looks like I made you miss your ride. Gomen nasai, Amini," Zoisite apologized. Ami put her head on his shoulder, nuzzled his neck.  
"I'm supposed to go in the other direction today, Zoisite-chan," she said softly. "Cram school."  
"I'll walk you there!" Zoisite said, in a flash of inspiration. Ami chuckled and kissed him on the cheek.  
"Arigato. Both for walking me and cheering me up."

They walked hand in hand, smiling at each other every time their eyes met.  
"How did I cheer you up, anyway?" Zoisite asked after a while. "I didn't do anything out of the ordinary, I think."  
"You were there for me."  
::::::::::  
"How much did you pay for him to come to school, Mizuno-san?" whispered Wataru acidly as the cram school teacher had his back turned.  
"I--I didn't," Ami said.  
"Bullshit, you did it to show off you're loaded!"  
"That's not true," Ami said softly.  
"What would an older guy like that see in an overachiever like you, then?"

The question haunted Ami's thoughts throughout her three hours of cram school. Zoisite came running as soon as school was out. Ami smelled chemicals on him. His smile was the same heart-melting expression of love as he noticed her.

"I'd hug you, but I've been working with methylated spirits and some other nasty stuff. Gotta shower first," he apologized. Then he noticed her sad expression.  
"Hey, Amini, what is it?"  
Ami shook her head and wiped at her eyes to keep the tears at bay.  
"Nothing, just some mean things Wataru-san said. He's an idiot."  
"What did he say? I'll--"  
Ami had never seen Zoisite so angry as he looked all over the mass of people, swearing bloody murder on a stranger.  
"He said there was no logical reason you'd be interested in a bookworm like me. I've heard worse."  
Zoisite whirled around. While Ami was sure it wasn't on purpose, he smacked Wataru in the face with the remains of his braid.  
"Nani? That nitwit couldn't understand?"

"Why do you love me, then?" Ami playfully asked as she started walking home, hoping he wouldn't hear her voice tremble, ever-so slightly. Zoisite ran to catch up with her.  
"Because you're smart and pretty and strong and brave and sweet and nice and polite and I like you. And if that good-for-nothing says anything mean to you ever again, I'll throw him out of a window."  
"Zoisite-chan! You can't do that!" Ami protested.  
"An open window, then," Zoisite pouted. Ami looked hurt.  
"An open, first-floor window."  
"Let me take care of my problems on my own, in my own way. I know he's wrong. You know he's wrong. Isn't that all that matters?" Ami smiled.

In the back of his mind, Zoisite knew he'd agree with everything Ami said when she smiled like that. And that it was horribly unfair that she used it on him to keep him from defending her good name. But he agreed all the same.

"We're here," Ami smiled, waving at him to follow her in. Zoisite was surprised to find Ami had brought him to her home. Ami didn't seem like the type to move so fast.  
"The bathroom is that door," Ami pointed. "I'll bring a towel in a minute."  
He blinked, then smiled. Right, he still needed to shower.

He went into the roomy bathroom and disrobed, before stepping under the shower and adjusting the temperature to a pleasant level. He scrubbed at his chest and arms and hands and fingernails, washed his hair furiously, until he'd gotten rid of a scent he'd learned to associate with colored flames recently. The effect was pretty, but the cause toxic and smelly.

He cursed when shampoo dripped into his eyes. He opened the shower, grabbing for a towel at the rack next to him, wiping furiously at his face.

When he looked up, Ami was blushing only a few feet away from the door. He felt his own cheeks heat up as he apologized profusely, wrapping the towel around his waist.  
"I should have knocked, it's my fault, I'll go back out, gomen! Gomen!" Ami babbled, running out. Zoisite was left feeling a little insecure. Was he really that ugly?

He sprayed off the rest of the soap, wringing out his hair before wrapping it in a second towel and drying off. He slipped back into his pants and put his T-shirt into a plastic bag from his pocket.

Ami was sitting in the sofa with her hands clasped over her lap. She was still blushing.  
"Gomen for not knocking," she whispered.  
"It's okay, Amini. It's not like you haven't seen before, right?" he asked. Ami blinked.  
"Before? That was the first time I've... Well... You know..."  
Zoisite frowned.  
"Hai, in this life, it is. The first time was... You know, after the lake," he said, motioning with his hands vaguely.  
"Lake? We've never been to a lake," Ami said. "I'm sure we haven't. We'd need to take the train."  
"I meant during--You really don't remember?"

Zoisite seemed hurt.  
"I don't believe you! Queen Serenity would never have been that cruel! She wouldn't hate us that much!" he cried out. Ami saw tears in his eyes, before he turned and ran. The door slammed shut. When Ami followed, the hallway was empty.  
"Zoisite," she whispered softly.

She managed to stay calm for less than five minutes before calling to the four their apartment.  
"Moshi moshi, Kunzite here."  
"Kunzite-san? Is Zoisite there? Please say he's there," Ami pleaded. Kunzite seemed surprised as he replied.  
"Hai. He came in just now. He's in his room, squalling like a newborn. What happened?"  
"I--He--I don't know, really. I think it was something I said. He forgot his T-shirt, too," Ami said, taking it from the bag and holding it up to her nose.  
"Whatever you do, don't breathe over--Mizuno-san? Ami-san? Ami! Kami!"  
::::::::::  
Ami felt so tired, but when she opened her eyes, she was on the softest, biggest bed she'd ever been in. She was naked. Someone was kissing her shoulder. It tickled. She squirmed under the onslaught, giggling.

"Amini..." purred a familiar voice behind her. "By all the gods, aishiteru. Forever. Always and ever. Promise."

She was shocked, but her body didn't obey, just stretched, yawned, smiled.

"Zoisite no baka. You'll leave if your Prince so declar--Gomen. I for--I... Zoisite-chan."  
The kiss was slow and bittersweet.  
"I know," Zoisite smiled sadly. "You're feeling guilty for still having a Princess, when I lost mine due to my own stupidity."

"You were but a child," Ami protested, vaguely wondering what in Kami's name they were talking about.

"Kiss?" Zoisite asked, eyes full of emotion, lips rosy in the early light of dawn. Ami shook her head, chuckled and kissed him.

What was the matter with her? She was naked in a bed with Zoisite, and he wasn't wearing anything, and they were so close and she was perfectly comfortable. And her body didn't obey any commands she tried to give it.

"Don't know what it's going to take for me to forget the lake, though. You told me you hated them, and then--"  
He kissed her again.  
"You love water. I wanted to make you happy," he smiled. She laughed as he scattered kisses over her bare skin.  
"You're too selfless for your own good, Zoisite."

And Zoisite didn't think it odd, too.

Someone knocked on the door. Zoisite laughed silently as Ami jumped up and transformed.  
"Accept that you look magnificent no matter in what state, Amini," he said, stretching out, showing off every... asset he had.  
"Get dressed," Ami hissed. Zoisite made an appreciative noise.  
"A little possessiveness suits you, Amini."  
He got up and pressed a kiss against the back of her neck.  
"Makes me feel like my efforts last night appreciated."

Efforts? They hadn't, they--

Their visitor knocked again.  
"Come in!" Zoisite called, pulling the sheet over himself. It was Kunzite. He was dressed in a pristinely white uniform, with glittering silver edges.

What the--  
::::::::::  
Mizuno Saeko watched the boy who'd taken on vigil at her daughter's sickbed. He'd been, in a roundabout, passive way, responsible for the girl's current state. But he'd called the hospital, rode with her in the ambulance, had gotten sedated when they tried to take her away from him. He loved her daughter dearly, clearly. Atlantinium Zoisite.

"I--I--"  
"If it wasn't for you, we'd have had to find out what had harmed her in the first place. And it might have been too late," Saeko smiled.  
"I should've taken better care of my things, told her it wasn't good for her, I--"  
"You were lucky not to have inhaled it yourself," Saeko chided. Zoisite sunk back into a miserable little ball, drowning in a sea of pale blonde curls.  
"I wanted to surprise her for Valentine's day. With blue flames. Only, I found barium chloride before copper chloride, so I figured I'd practice with that."  
Zoisite sobbed.  
"I'm an idiot."  
"Probably. Copper chloride is only poisonous when you eat or drink it," Saeko nodded. "And crying won't help her, either."

Zoisite looked up.  
"I'm the worst boyfriend there is. I don't deserve someone as pretty and smart and good as Amini."  
"Amini? Is that what you call her?" Mizuno smiled. Zoisite nodded.  
"She's so tiny on the outside. And then she opens her mouth or looks at you and you realize that that tiny body contains a whole, beautiful world you could get lost in," he smiled wistfully, stroking Ami's hair. He wanted to touch her face, feel that she was still warm, but there was a breathing mask on her that he was too scared to remove. Needles in her arm he didn't dare upset. She looked even smaller than usual.

"Will she get better, dr..."  
He trailed off as he read the nameplate.  
"The toxicologist says you dissolved the compound thoroughly. She should be fine in a few days, maybe two weeks," Saeko said. Zoisite stared at her, then started crying again.  
"I'm a selfish, horrid bastard. Amini said her okaasama worked at the hospital, but I didn't come looking for you," he sobbed. Saeko put a hand on his shoulder.  
"Now, now. That you forgot only shows how much you care about my daughter," she said, offering a handkerchief. "Now smile. Ami-chan will be upset if she sees you crying when she wakes up."

Zoisite looked at the woman, who was on the verge of tears herself.  
"Gomen... Gomen..."  
Saeko held him, and they cried in Mizuno Ami's hospital room, in Tokyo University Hospital, in the middle of the night.  
::::::::::  
This time, she was lying on a kind of beach. But the water hardly moved. Ami wondered why she never wore clothes in her dreams lately.

And then Zoisite was there again, walking from the lake like a newly discovered god entering the world, water trailing down his body as he sent a heated look her way, lips moving as if kissing her, then those darkened eyes winked and he licked his bruised lips as the water cascading from his hair, fingers of his right hand drumming on his right hipbone.

She felt sort of sorry, both towards Zoisite and herself for forgetting this particular scene.

"Mercury-san..." growled the blonde. He had an accent.  
"Ami. Watashi wa no namae Ami des, my lord."

Then again, perhaps not.

"Amini?" Zoisite tried, his usual language demanding he add an extra syllable. "Like... Like 'Cute Small One'?"  
"Nani? I said--"  
"I know it's wrong, but... Cute and small sort of works for me," Zoisite grinned coyly.

Ami got up and pushed him back in the water. Zoisite grabbed her waist just in time. They hit the water with a splash.

"So eager already, Amini? After so short a while?"  
He kissed her, the water beating against their shoulders.  
"I already feel guilty for picking so pretty a flower, will you make me consider proposing, too?"  
Ami felt horrified at the thought. She was seventeen! She had ::studies:: to finish!  
"Sounds like a plan," Ami grinned. "If I get to see-well, not see--what the little lord can do again, a lot sounds like a plan."

Ami was horrified when she felt that Zoisite was actually up for it, in every possible way, starting with the... ::insistent:: nudge at her thighs and ending with that slow, cat-who-got-the-entire-milk-cart smile.

But then he kissed her again, so slow, so tender, so different from when they had been mock-taunting one another. So careful, as if she might disappear if he wasn't gentle enough.

And he was gentle. First with his fingers, then with his... self. Careful and sweet, whispering endearments to her the entire time, not shouting or being selfish, just restrained whispers of love as they barely upset the water with their lovemaking. And Ami found herself replying, saying the exact same things she wanted to say as the memory provided every possible sensation of the thing. He kissed her in that same gentle way over and over again, until they were drunk on the feeling of soft lips brushing against the other, and the taste of lake water and love.

How could she have forgotten...

These sweet lips, this powerful young body, this loving smile and tenderness...

...What had happened at the lake?  
::::::::::


End file.
